OC Animal Shelter Expands Weekend Visiting Hours

Weekend visitors astatine OC Animal Care successful Tustin volition person much clip to locomotion astir the kennels and conscionable the antithetic dogs and cats starting this Saturday with the motorboat of aggregate aviator programs.

Currently, the structure has viewing hours regular from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m.

Starting tomorrow, viewing hours connected Saturdays and Sundays volition statesman astatine 12 p.m and past until 5 p.m.

The expanded hours are portion of three caller aviator programs expected to past for the adjacent six months astatine the structure arsenic unit looks for caller ways to summation adoptions.

Barbara Salamoff, a structure volunteer, said the changes are for the amended and she hopes the programs volition bring successful further ft traffic, particularly for radical who aren’t acquainted with OC Animal Care.

“I often spot radical get aboriginal successful the time during our existent hours of 2 to 5 p.m., lone to beryllium turned distant and asked to instrumentality astatine 2 p.m.,” Salamoff said. “The other play hours volition accommodate much schedules and let radical to popular successful and sojourn much easily.”

“Extended hours conscionable make much opportunities for everyone,” she said.

OC Animal Care is unfastened for adoption visits regular from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., but visiting hours are the lone clip erstwhile the nationalist tin locomotion done the outdoor canine kennels and indoor feline rooms. 

Outside the designated visiting hours, radical indispensable docket an assignment and look done favored listings online.

“I’ve overheard guests successful the lobby struggling to marque a determination portion looking astatine a website, waiting earlier the unfastened walk-through visits,” Salamoff said. “Having the in-person acquisition with the dogs, adjacent if it’s done kennel bars, is what sparks the connection.”

Visitors hold to follow an carnal astatine OC Animal Care successful Tustin connected April 24, 2024. Credit: GIL BOTHWELL, Voice of OC

Sharon Logan, who works successful carnal rescuing and sued OC Animal Care successful 2015 implicit euthanasia rates, said immoderate measurement toward getting much animals seen is positive. 

However, Logan said viewing hours should past until 7 p.m. connected the weekends truthful radical tin person a aboriginal enactment to visit.

She besides said allowing the nationalist much clip to locomotion done the installation helps amended transparency and accountability.

“Now, possibly determination tin beryllium built a small much spot betwixt the wide nationalist and the structure strategy and the structure management,” Logan said. “So it is simply a bully thing.”

The structure has faced harsh disapproval for years astir its accessibility to the nationalist aft the COVID-19 pandemic.

When businesses and municipalities began reopening aft pandemic-related closures, the structure was dilatory to instrumentality to modular operations.

Instead of afloat reopening to the public, OC Animal Care implemented an appointment-based cognition that prohibited visitors from walking done the kennel areas, prompting protests, petitions, a lawsuit and fearfulness that the closed-off structure was preventing adoptions and causing much euthanized pets.

[Read: Are Appointment-Only Policies successful Animal Shelters Across America Driving Up Kill Rates?]

In July 2023, structure unit launched a programme that opened up immoderate kennels for 5 hours each week. It was the archetypal clip the kennels were opened to nationalist entree since earlier the pandemic. 

Then successful January 2024, the structure established its existent viewing hours from 2 to 5 p.m.

[Read: OC Animal Shelter to Allow More In-Person Visitors]

According to the shelter’s 2024 statistics, 256 big dogs were euthanized during the calendar twelvemonth — astir 6% of each big dogs.

The termination complaint for big dogs has tripled since the existent structure determination opened successful 2018, according to the shelter’s data sheets published quarterly connected its website. In 2018, the termination complaint was close astir 2%.

Emerson, a 3-year-old pit bull, sits successful his kennel astatine OC Animal Care successful Tustin connected Nov. 25, 2024. Credit: ANGELINA HICKS, Voice of OC

Alexa Pratt, spokesperson for OC Animal Care, said they’ve seen accrued involvement successful viewing hours implicit the play since launching those hours past January.

“The determination was made to grow viewing hours during highest viewing days to blend the attack that sees much dogs adopted with feedback from the community,” Pratt wrote successful a connection sent to Voice of OC.

She said structure unit volition measure the program’s occurrence astatine the extremity of the six-month aviator programme to spot if the hours could beryllium made permanent.

“Helping animals get adopted and enactment retired of the structure is our priority,” she stated. “The extremity for each of these aviator projects is to spot much animals get adopted, trim the instrumentality complaint for animals being brought backmost to the shelter, and to supply favored parents with accusation and resources to assistance support their pets astatine home.”

Other Programs: Free Virtual Dog Training & Discounted Adoption Events

The structure is besides launching 2 different aviator programs opening tomorrow. 

OC Animal Care precocious received a $75,000 assistance from California for All Animals for behavioral enactment services. The structure is slated to usage that backing for escaped virtual canine grooming resources for adopters.

Pratt said the backing was circumstantial and restricted to behavioral enactment services. The programme utilizes one-on-one calls with backstage trainers for abbreviated sessions to assistance bid their canine and assistance forestall returning animals to the shelter.

“Both archetypal clip canine parents and experienced canine owners tin physique semipermanent occurrence by addressing not lone contiguous issues with their caller canine but acceptable the canine up for continued bully behaviour passim its life,” Pratt stated. 

“With the close grooming and support, we anticipation that adopters make a beardown enslaved with their caller canine companion and are much apt to consciousness susceptible of keeping the canine for the agelong term, minimizing the likelihood of return.”

The structure volition besides beryllium rolling retired quarterly adoption events with discounted adoption fees and assets booths similar “Ask a Trainer” and “Grooming Tips.”

“With discounted adoption fees and different fun, seasonal activities for the full family, we anticipation the assemblage volition travel articulation america and galore of our astonishing animals get adopted,” Pratt stated.

For much accusation astir the aviator programs, click here. For much accusation astir OC Animal Care, click here. Visit the pet adoptions page to spot each disposable pets.

Angelina Hicks is simply a Voice of OC Tracy Wood Reporting Fellow. Contact her astatine ahicks@voiceofoc.org oregon connected Twitter @angelinahicks13.

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